What is the Insurrection Act? The Insurrection Act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. The statute implements Congress’s authority under the Constitution to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” It is the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act , under which federal military forces are generally barred from participating in civilian law enforcement activities. Although it is often referred to as the “Insurrection Act of 1807,” the law is actually an amalgamation of different statutes enacted by Congress between 1792 and 1871. Today, these provisions occupy Sections 251 through 255 in Title 10 of the United States Code. [1] OPPOSING THE INSURRECTION ACT: SOME SUGGESTIONS [From Gemini Pro & Google Sheets, edited by Jeffrey Diver] [2] The I...
